The best sugar substitute

Personally, I have a big demand from sweeteners’ taste, especially when it comes to coffee. Even one sweetener is the healthiest for the body, if their taste is bad, then I prefer to consume sugar. However, after several tests on various sweeteners, I ended up with the best healthy (and tasty) substitute for sugar, confirmed by studies.

I am talking about xylitol. Xylitol is used as a natural substitute for sugar and is found in many fruits and vegetables [1]. It contains fewer calories (2.4 per gram) and lower glycemic index (13) than sugar (65). In clinical trials, the group who consumed xylitol supplements lost weight [2], compared to the group that consumed sugar.

Xylitol is tasty. It has almost the same taste as the sugar, while leaving a slight touch of dew when you try it pure (not noticeable in beverages). Also, its texture is the same as sugar, to the point that if you put them side by side, you can not easily distinguish them with the eye.

Close view of Xylitol

Although xylitol’s benefits are known, since previous studies have shown that xylitol contributes to the prevention of obesity and other metabolic disorders [3], let’s look to more of the xylitol’s benefits.

In a 2014 study, xylitol also distinguished for its anti-diabetic properties, indicating that it is an ideal sugar substitute and supplement to antidiabetic foods [5, 6], while there are not many studies done to humans on this subject (the above studies were done in mice).

For example, in a study using chewing gum with xylitol, caries decreased [7]. It also acts as a GLP-1 proportional and can therefore have benefits in managing blood sugar [8].

Unlike other sweeteners, which although they have no carbohydrates and no calories, they are trigger the body to release insulin, contributing to obesity, xylitol does not have the same reaction, so can be used by diabetics [9].

Xylitol increases saturation and reducing the amount of food we eat up to 25% [10, 11], while it also has a positive effect on growth hormone [12].

But is xylitol so good that we can consume large quantities without fear? I don’t have the answer on this (although there is not something so far saying that it is dangerous to humans), but I think you should consume it with measure. Don’t think that because it has no calories, you can eat unlimited amounts.

However xylitol is dangerous for the dogs. Yes, a man’s best friend is in danger if consume something containing xylitol, and that’s because the dog’s body increases the secretion of insulin when xylitol enters their blood. This results in hypoglycemia and finally the death of the animal from acute liver failure [13].

At the beginning of the article I noted xylitol’s taste. Because I tested two products, I’m refering to them only and I can not guarantee that every product will have good taste [#1, #2]. Of the two, the first one has a slightly better flavor, although you can not easily distinguish them. If you are a coffee drinker (or any other beverage) and you are looking for the perfect sugar substitute, try xylitol and you will not want to try anything afterwards. The ratio to sugar is 1:1.

Published by Shark

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A blog with some thoughts, opinions and concerns about self-improvement, relationships, society and anything else I find interesting, with the main purpose of giving readers of the blog, but also to anyone looking for it, knowledge, motivations and stimulus to improve himself.

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